Naught all that Holds Value is Gold
by M.C.Denalde
Summary: Thranduil' wife has been long dead, but unusual circumstances surrounding her death bring her back, only she doesn't remember who she is. There will also be extensive flashbacks to how the pair met and married.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer I haven't read the books (I plan to) and part 2 of this chapter will be up this weekend with more info and any answers to questions you may have.

Legolas sat perched on top of his horse surveying the woods about him. He pierced the thick forest with his eyes, making himself appear older and more serious than he was regularly known to be. While this was not the first time Legolas had rode the paths of the forest it was the first time his father had accompanied him. It was a rarity to catch the King this far outside of the walls of the palace. Not to say the Elven King was inexperienced with the paths and woods of his own kingdom, but this was the first time he would see Legolas perform his task of protecting the forest. He was not one to hang on his father's every word and praise, but he was eager to show his father that he was capable of protecting the Kingdom.

They rode in silence among the paths, with a small company of guards and their Captain Tauriel. There had been several reports of strange winds and creatures in this part of this forest. Such accounts did not usually warrant attention, but after the disappearances of several wood elves his father decided it was time for answers.

There was indeed something wrong in the wood, it was a change so minute Legolas didn't even notice it at first. It wasn't until his father had attempted to order him back to the palace that he could sense a dark taint to the air. He refused to leave claiming that they would need him should the darkness manifested itself in some unknown force. Thranduil had relinquished to his barely adult son's logic, but not without unease.

"My King, I recognize this form of darkness. It is not unlike-" The oldest of the guard, Gorchanar, trailed off. Legolas looked at him curiously, hoping he would continue. His father nodded in response.

"If it is the same darkness then we had best not stay in one place too long." Thranduil stated before pushing his great stag forward.

So they rode on, it wasn't until they reached a small river that his father ordered them to stop for the time being. They all dismounted and allowed the horses to drink from the water. His father and the guards stood about discussing their plans of journeying on. Legolas could tell by their mannerisms that many of the guard where uneasy, especially Tauriel who came to stand beside him at the waters edge. He had never seen her fidget in the course of their time together, but she shifted uneasily from foot to foot staring into the same water he did.

"I do not like this darkness, I feel as if the air is so thick it may smother us all." She stated darkly. Legolas had originally disliked her gloomier moods, but he grew to like that she never sugar coated her thoughts. Even if her thoughts were grim ones.

"What would cause such darkness?" Legolas asked not expecting her to find an answer. She was a good captain, but she was no older or wiser than he.

"I do not know. One of the King's advisors suggested that dark magic could be at work though." She replied kicking small smooth pebble into the gentle current.

Under better circumstances Legolas would have quite enjoyed exploring the rivers edge. It had a stone bed which created little pools of water for the river's creatures to hide in. He peered curiously into the one Tauriel's rock had disrupted. Small fish danced out of its way as the water rippled violently in their small pond, he watched as the fish and the water settled from its unwelcome guest. The semi stillness returned to the water creating an almost reflective surface.

What he saw in the reflection disturbed him. His head shot up to look at the sky, his heart convulsed with fear as he looked up. Black clouds hung like heavy smoke in the air, it appeared almost living as it convulsed and moved in a way he had never seen clouds move. What was worse, the black masses almost appeared ablaze, it's core appearing like hot fire flashing angrily. Legolas heard Tauriel gasp as she followed his gaze. He felt as the others joined them in gazing up at the unusual formation.

"Is it a storm?" Legolas asked. Knowing very well that it wasn't. No one bothered to answer him, all of them silently anticipating what might happen next. For a few minutes the storm did not change, it just continued to writhe into itself. Suddenly a loud clap of thunder emitted from the center of the clouds and the mass shrank into itself. Creating a black mass so thick Legolas was sure he could have walked upon it. Light suddenly pierced through the clouds like the brightest of dawns after the darkest of nights, causing Legolas to avert his eyes. When he looked up he saw something falling from the storm's center. It took Legolas a few moments to realize that the object was a person, a small person at that. He watched slightly horrified as the person fell. It wasn't until their body hit the river with a loud slap that Legolas came to his senses. Without thinking he shucked off his weapons and boots and jerked towards the water.

"Legolas!" His father shouted attempting in vain to prevent his son from swimming out to this mysterious figure. Legolas was swift on his feet though and hopped up on the larger rocks along the shore, diving in when the water became deep enough. The water was extremely cold this late in fall and it numbed his limbs almost immediately. Luckily, Legolas was a strong swimmer thanks to his father whom had insisted upon teaching him to swim personally. He was easily able to glide through the water, even despite that he was fully clothed. he allowed the current to direct him down stream hoping the person had been directed by the current in the same manor. With a small surge of joy he saw the figure-a maid actually-drifting through the current. Her hair and clothing were light amongst the dark water of the river. Small bubbles glittered around her and stuck in her hair, casting an ethereal appearance. Legolas reached her side in a matter of seconds and gently scooped her into his arms. He pushed off the river's floor to force himself through the gentle waves. The cold air hit his face cruelly as he surfaced with the young maid. She hung lifeless in his arms, her head and neck bobbing unsupported in the water, but he knew she was breathing he could hear it even over the rush of water. He had to kick his way to the shore since his arms were immobilized. He caught sight of the guards readied at the shore to relieve him of her weight. He also saw his father watching him with a stony glare, clearly not happy with his act of heroics. Legolas was sure to get an earful from the King later on. Legolas hauled himself onto the rocks after they had taken the woman from him, he found himself incredibly tired from the small venture and wanted little more than to sprawl out there. He was in the process of rolling onto his feet when he heard his father's sharp intake of breath. Legolas looked up to find his father staring at the Elleth a range of emotions on his face so wide Legolas couldn't name half of them: disbelief, shock, and confusion were but a few. Legolas turned to look at the woman more closely. She was coughing up water and starting to regain consciousness. Her clothes like Legolas' were soaked and clinging to her small frame. She looked vaguely familiar to Legolas with her long blond hair and delicate features, but many Ellith had such features. She looked very confused and tired as her eyes took in her surroundings.

"Who is she?" Legolas asked curiously looking back up at the sky. It was not every day that beautiful she-elves fell out of the sky, she had to be special or unique to befall such a fate. His father just ignored him. He was untying the heavy cloak about his shoulders and clasping it under the woman's chin. She was starting to lose consciousness again, she would probably need to see a healer, not doubt she sustained some type of injuries just from her impact with the water.

Legolas watched in confusion as father drew the woman's face in his hands and kissed her forehead with the gentlest of care. She was completey unconscious now as the King gathered the woman up into his arms. She was completely swallowed in the large cloak making her look tiny and fragile like a doll.

"I do not understand, who is she?"Legolas questioned. As his father walked past him towards his stag. Gorchanar paused at Legolas's side looking bewildered. It was almost comical to see the normally stoic guard look so stunned.

"My Prince. It is your mother, the former Queen." The guard stated stiffly. Legolas stared at him agape, slightly annoyed at the insinuation. He could see the resemblance now, he hadn't known his mother more than a few years. He only knew her face from foggy memories of his youth and a poorly rendered portrait of her in his father's study.

"My mother is dead. What you suggest is impossible." Legolas pointed out.

"No my prince. The Queen's death was shrouded in a good amount of unusual circumstances-" the guard paused. "I was there. This however is a story you should ask our King." The guard gave him a bow and was about to mount his own horse when Legolas stopped him.

"But how do you know it's my mother?" He asked still confused.

"You will discover for your self soon that your mother has quality about her unlike any other." The guard looked thoughtful for a moment. "It's a sort of aura of light, it warms you. It's a gift that is common in her familial line." The guard smiled gently at Legolas before pulling his horse alongside the King's.


	2. Chapter 1 part 2

Thank you to all who reviewed/read/followed this story! This story is different from most of my stories where it doesn't have a definite timeline...so this should get interesting.

Gwen had finally snuck away from the party, She had waited until they were thoroughly drunk before slipping into the shadows around the campfire. Her best friend Lori had insisted Gwen come to her lake house in the woods for the week, a kind of last farewell to a most golden summer. But, despite her love of the lake and the woods, parties did wear on her. So she had stolen away to the dock on the lake. It was beautiful on the lake at night, the water looked like thick black ink that reflected everything on its surface. She could see the stars and trees and the moon from her position at the end of the dock. The world felt infinite in the moments she spent here.

She tilted her head down to look at herself in the reflective waters. She nearly laughed at her reflection, she looked like a ghost in the dress Lori had lent her. It was a gauzy floor length white gown, perfect for summer, light as a breeze, and the length though long allowed Gwen to move freely without having to worry about revealing everything. Unfortunately it was a colder night, so she had thrown a thick tan cardigan on before retreating to the lake.

She usually found solace on the lake, especially at night. But tonight peace alluded her. In a few short weeks she would move away and begin college, and she could not help but feel that her childhood was coming to a close. Although the adults in her life had always teased her and told her she never acted a child. It was true in some manor, Gwen had always been very serious and would often disappear into the woods to 'think'. Kim and Thomas, her parents often joked that it was a blessing that she was more an adult than they were. She smiled at the thought, she had been adopted on a whim by them, that was how they did everything. On a whim. Her life had been an adventure living under their care, full of last minute trips and spontaneous outings. She would dearly miss living with their light hearted souls. Her thoughts were broken by the sensation that she was not alone. She looked up and scanned the dark trees surrounding the lake expecting to see something, anything, but there was nothing. She turned her gaze back down to the water and gasped. In the water the reflection of a great white stag shown in the water. She looked up to where the stag should've been standing across the lake, but there was nothing. In a mixture of fear and wonder she stared entranced by the glowing white creature, it was unlike anything she had ever seen. Her muscles relaxed and her brain numbed the longer she stared at it.

"Gwen!" She heard Lori shout desperately behind her. Her voice was full of fear, but Gwen was strangely void of any.

She was vaguely aware of a light shove on her back, not unlike a forceful gust of wind. Her body was stiff as a board as she fell forward off of the dock. It was a strange sensation, she felt more like the water was coming to her instead of her to it, her world was moving and changing around her as she remained powerless to stop it. She didn't become afraid until she hit the water. Or rather went through it. She didn't feel cold or wet and her body didn't slow as she passed through it. It was like she had fallen off a precipice of a cliff, not the edge of a dock. She finally found movement again and flailed her arms wildly as she flew through the water like it wasn't even there. She cringed into herself as the floor of the lake approached her, but she passed through that too. She fell into a dark hole of space and just fell. She wasn't sure how long or how far she fell for, all she could sense was her own horror and a strong wind whipping her hair and clothes. She couldn't even function through her fear, or think through it or even order her muscles to move.

What could've been an eternity finally fell away. She was falling face up this time, she could see dark clouds dominating the sky. Did she come from there? She struggled to breath in the fast moving air, and prayed that she would survive the impact. If it ever came.

Finally it did, before she could even comprehend that she was seeing the tops of trees her back hit the surface. Her head and body were completely submerged before she realized the surface was water. The cold liquid hit her hard and she struggled against the current of the water. The pain of the impact didn't reach her stiff frozen muscles, but it reached her mind. She slowly started blacking out as her body couldn't handle the force of the fall, she drifted to the bottom of the water. Her fear coursed away as the current took her near lifeless body. The only emotion she registered now was a slight curiosity of what all had just transpired. She closed her eyes. Perhaps she had just fainted and then imagined it all as she drowned in her childhood lake.

She was about to let herself go to sleep when she felt a slight tugging at her side. The water disturbed itself around her, or perhaps she disturbed it? She didn't come to a conclusion before her head resurfaced the waters. She gasped in shock at the cold air, her body doing its job at preserving itself even as her mind gave up. She became aware of strong arms around her body as she moved through the water. Her body was limp as a rag doll as she was passed over to someone else. She was fully hit by the cold air as she was brought away from the water by a different set of strong arms. Someone laid her across a hard surface.

"Echuio, tolo govano ven" She heard a soft voice speak. Someone gripped her shoulders and a surge of energy went through her weakened body. Her eyes fluttered open to find a worried face hovering just above hers. She choked as she tried to breath and the same person propped her up into a better position. After several wet coughs she was able to breath normally. She looked around and found herself in a strange place. She had automatically noticed the forest was different. It was not her thick green pine tree forest, but a twisted dark wood that reminded her of the Everglades in Florida.

Only colder she thought with a shiver.

Deeply confused now she looked to the people around her, she knew immediately that they weren't human. It wasn't their innate beauty or pointed ears that alerted her to this fact, but something deeply human within her.

Terror welled up in her with tremendous force. Where was this strange forest with these strange people? She was beginning to realize her ordeal was not a creative fantasy of her own making, but perhaps something real. She looked desperately to each face hoping to find answers, they all appeared even more mystified than Her. Gwen's eyes finally landed on a silver haired one wearing an elaborate tunic. He was shedding his outer layer, a cloak? She had never seen a cloak in practical use. The silver haired man knelt with incredible grace in front of her and wrapped the thick cloak around her. She met his eyes as he tied the thick cloak in place, he had eyes the color of light aquamarine. She felt power rolling off of him, even in her half conscious delirious state she recognized that this forest was his domain and that everything in it was his. She decided that she wasn't ready to comprehend any more at the time and let go of all her control letting her exhaustion have her. But even in the darkness her confusion and fear followed her. And his eyes.

*the elvish was basically an order for her to join them in the waking world.

**She is an Elf she just doesn't realize it yet.

***the white deer/stag are often seen in myths and faerytales, they lead unsuspecting people into alternate worlds. Plus the name Gwen means white lady and Thranduil is represented by the Stagg so it's a perfect symbol.


End file.
